


it takes thirty days to make a friend, and just one to fall in love

by chrobins



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Shapeshifting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-12
Updated: 2015-07-12
Packaged: 2018-04-08 23:39:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4325256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chrobins/pseuds/chrobins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tsukishima finds a black cat in an alleyway on a rainy night and takes him in.</p><p>Late submission for Kurotsukki Week Day 11: Free Day</p><p>There's probably a lot of glaring mistakes since I wrote this at 1am and I'm posting this at 8am right before work and I'm too tired to look it over, but please tell me what you thought of this ficlet!</p>
            </blockquote>





	it takes thirty days to make a friend, and just one to fall in love

**Day 1:**

 

It’s cold and raining outside; Tsukishima forgot his umbrella and has to make do with his jacket over his head. Akiteru would probably scold him. He was only supposed to go buy dinner packs from the convenience store since they were out of groceries and Akiteru got paid the next day, but the blonde was distracted by a magazine that he ended up reading for hours. It was his own fault for staying out too long.

 

He walked by an abandoned alleyway and saw a cat huddling in a soaking wet cardboard box. No one was around; was it lost? Tsukishima knelt down carefully and tried extending his hand out; the cat did not come forth. It was dark and hard to see so maybe it wasn’t a cat after all...but the blonde was curious. Setting the bag of food down, he reached in and picked the cat up.

 

It’s fur was pitch black in the streetlight and it was sticking up in weird places. But what startled the blonde most was how the cat wasn’t very responsive; the animal was cold to the touch and was really skinny. Tsukishima looked around again; no one was in sight. He panicked; the poor cat was going to die; it didn’t have any collars or anything else and Tsukishima wondered if it was a stray.

 

But he did feel bad for it. So, the blonde hugged the cold animal to his chest along with his bag of food and ran back to his apartment. He fumbled with his keys a little but managed to get inside while not entirely soaking wet. Setting the food on the counter and forgetting all about being hungry, he rummaged to find a clean towel to wrap the cat in. Tsukishima switched the heater on and placed the small cat by it.

 

Grabbing some water he put it in a small bowl and placed it near the cat. It seemed to be breathing...but Tsukishima felt nervous the little cat wasn’t going to make it through the night. The blonde used his hands to warm it up, hoping it would wake up soon.

 

He spent the entire night holding the cat to his chest, hoping that it would wake up. But he fell asleep on the floor cuddled around the small animal before he could find out.

 

**Day 2:**

 

Tsukishima wakes up to wet cheeks; his eyes shoot open and he flings into an upright position; instead of a blaring alarm or silence to greet him in the morning, he hears a meow instead. His eyes wander to the black cat walking around his legs, still wary but close enough that it seemed to trust him. Tsukishima sighed in relief. He reached out his hand to pet the black cat and smiled when it curled into his palm briefly before walking over to the kitchen.

 

Obviously, it was smart and knew where the food was. Tsukishima got up and sighed, padding over to his empty fridge wondering if he could actually feed the cat. And surprisingly there was a can of mackerel sitting in the back. He checked the expiration date before opening it and setting it on the floor. The cat approached the food carefully, sniffing once before seemingly devouring it as soon as the familiar scent reached its nose. Tsukishima smiled and knelt down. “So you like mackerel, huh?” He said, half-expecting a response. When the cat was done, Tsukishima put on a coat and some shoes and headed outside to buy some food for himself and more cans of mackerel.

 

**Day 3:**

 

The cat enjoys cuddling, Tsukishima discovers when he wakes up to the cat sleeping on his chest. And he doesn’t like it when Tsukishima has to get up or go to the bathroom or leave to go on an errand. But the cat will happily eat anything, but he really likes mackerel. So now, Tsukishima’s fridge consists of almond milk, eggs, and mackerel. It’s a weird combination, but it works. Tsukishima doesn’t mind the extra company.

 

**Day 6:**

 

Tsukishima is afraid of thunderstorms; this is a fact that only his brother and Yamaguchi know. And he would like to keep it that way. But now the cat knows...which is not a bad thing. For lack of creativity, Tsukishima had named the cat Kuroo because his fur is black and he has a tail. Akiteru laughed at him but...it seemed fitting.

 

When the first crack of thunder resonated in his small apartment, Tsukishima was unprepared and fell to the floor in the kitchen. He was too far away from his pills that were sitting on the counter and he could already feel the anxiety kicking in. His hands were shaking and his vision was growing blurry. He didn’t hear the meowing until he felt soft, gentle paws on his legs.

 

“Not now, Kuroo.” He pleaded, hoping the cat would understand that being on the floor was not an invitation for play time. But Kuroo didn’t leave and meowed softly. Tsukishima’s breathing had become more strained and it was harder to keep his eyes open. He could feel Kuroo treading lightly on his limbs, licking at the bare skin and pressing his small body against the blonde’s. Tsukishima closed his eyes and tried to relax as the next boom of thunder sounded louder than the first.

 

Kuroo purred and crawled until his face was pushed into the blonde’s neck. He nuzzled his owner and for a moment Tsukishima could have sworn that he had talked. But when he tried to focus again, all he could hear was a gentle purr and a soft meow. The blonde moved his hand to pet the small animal, letting the soft fur glide under his fingertips like silk. “Kuroo, you’re a good boy.” The cat mewled in response and nuzzled his nose to Tsukishima’s cheek, causing the blonde to laugh.

 

It had been a long time since Tsukishima had last had an attack alone, but at least now, with Kuroo, he didn’t really have to be alone anymore.

 

Akiteru had rushed over to Tsukishima’s apartment as soon as he saw signs of a storm, but he was very surprised to find a sleeping Tsukishima with a smile on his face curled up with his black cat. The older male smiled, managing to carry both of them to the bedroom and tuck them in.  
  
 **Day 15:**

 

Yamaguchi came over with a pile of books to study for midterms with the intention to do nothing but study. Kuroo was wary of the freckled male at first, but warmed up to him eventually when Yamaguchi fed him a piece of mackerel. “Stupid cat only stays because I feed him. If I gave him anything other than fish, he’d probably leave.” Kuroo meowed in response. “Spoiled.” Tsukishima grunts and turns on the TV while Yamaguchi plays with the cat.

 

They did not study.

 

**Day 22:**

 

Hinata brings his cat over for a play date and something weird happens between them. The cats stare at each other for a little while before Kuroo picks Hinata’s cat, Kenma, up with his mouth by Kenma’s neck and carries him off to the other room like a mother would. Hoping he won’t walk in on two cats doing the raunchy, Tsukishima investigates as Kuroo and Kenma are laying on his beck as Kuroo licks the blonde and black cat clean and meows softly, which almost sound like soft cries. Tsukishima decides it must be a cat thing and returns hoping Hinata didn’t break anything while he was gone for two minutes.

 

It takes a while to separate the two when Hinata has to leave, but the cats kind of talk to each other and then Kenma reluctantly goes back to his owner and meows even when the door is closed and they probably won’t see each other for a while. Tsukishima notices that Kuroo seems pretty down after their play date, but his attitude is completely changed when the blonde brings him a can of mackerel.

 

That night, Tsukishina barely got any sleep because Kuroo kept crying in his sleep.

 

**Day 30:**

 

Something is wrong when Tsukishima wakes up at 9am. The first thing he notices is wrong is that it’s 9am; Kuroo never hesitates to wake the blonde up at 7 when it’s time for breakfast. Second is that his bed is very cold and the windows aren’t even open. “Kuroo?” Tsukishima calls out, expecting to hear the familiar pad of footsteps against the hardwood floor, the jingle of the little bell collar that Tsukishima got for him. “Kuroo?” He tries again, but nothing greets him.

 

Worried that Kuroo might have gotten out, he flies out of bed and nearly races to the hall; the door isn’t open, but it’s not locked. The balcony door is closed to; did Akiteru drop by and accidentally let Kuroo out? In a panic, he opens the front door in hopes that Kuroo is sitting on the welcome mat patiently awaiting breakfast; there is nothing outside his front door.

 

Maybe Kuroo was lost? Tsukishima, not really caring about his bedhead or his pajamas, throws on a large hoodie and sandals and heads outside with his phone and keys to search for his cat. He looks around his entire apartment complex, knocks on every door to see if they had seen a black cat roaming around.

 

The old lady next door said she saw a naked man run outside at 1am, but Tsukishima didn’t pay any mind to her ramblings; she always saw things. Tsukishima looked for hours, called Akiteru and Yamaguchi and even Hinata to come help him. They searched for hours, every alleyway and behind every convenience store for Tsukishima’s little black cat with a funny patch of fur on his head that looked like unruly bedhead.

 

But they could not find Kuroo.

 

**Day 35:**

 

No shelter and no vet reported any black cats that had been recently turned in. Tsukishima begins to wonder if Kuroo had found a new owner, someone that spoiled him twice as much, gave him two cans of mackerel instead of one even if he begged for another, someone that didn’t have anxiety attacks every so often and didn’t need comforting, someone who had a large house to accommodate Kuroo’s curiosity, someone that would give him a ball of yarn despite the mess and someone that needed Kuroo more that Tsukishima did.

 

Tsukishima cried himself to sleep.

 

**Day 40:**

 

Akiteru visited more often, usually with Yamaguchi so the blonde couldn’t play the sibling card and kick him out. Tsukishima had another attack alone and Akiteru stayed over that night. But it didn’t help that he had lost such a close friend. Yamaguchi had tried to look for another cat that looked just like him, but Tsukishima knew there was only one Kuroo, and that Kuroo was gone.

 

**Day 50:**

 

It’s cold and raining outside; Tsukishima forgot his umbrella and has to make do with his jacket over his head. Akiteru would probably scold him. He was only supposed to go buy dinner packs from the convenience store since they were out of groceries and Akiteru got paid the next day, but the blonde was distracted by a magazine that he ended up reading for hours. It was his own fault for staying out too long.

 

He walked by an abandoned alleyway and saw someone huddling in a soaking wet cardboard box. No one was around; were they lost? Tsukishima knelt down carefully and tried extending his hand out; the person did not move. It was dark and hard to see so maybe it wasn’t a person after all...but the blonde was curious. Setting the bag of food down, he reached inside.

 

The stranger’s hair was pitch black in the streetlight and it was sticking up in weird places. But what startled the blonde most was how the man wasn’t very responsive; he was cold to the touch and was really skinny. Tsukishima looked around again; no one was in sight. He panicked; it looked like the man was going to die; the man didn’t have much clothes and Tsukishima wondered if he was homeless.

 

But he did feel bad for him. So, the blonde, struggling with the weight, leaving his bag of food on the ground, ran, as fast as he could carrying another human being, back to his apartment. He fumbled with his keys a little but managed to get inside while not entirely soaking wet. Forgetting all about being hungry, he moved the man to his bathtub and stripped him down and turned on the warm water.

 

Tsukishima didn’t think about his actions until he had sat down by the tub, but then he facepalmed as soon as he did. Who, in their right mind, brings a smelly stranger to his house? Who brings a homeless man to the privacy of their home to take care of them? He could have just left some food by him or something and he would go on with his day. But the blonde had moved upon instinct, letting something other than his brain control his actions.

 

Turning off the water before it overflowed, Tsukishima stayed by the tub and hoped the man would wake up. Maybe he would apologize for being a bother and leave. Tsukishima looked in the man’s pants; they were torn and soaking wet. He rummaged in his pockets hoping to find a wallet or some means of identification, but all he found was a small collar with a little bell attached.

 

A groan from the stranger brought Tsukishima from his snooping and turned his attention towards the tub. There were so many signs that should have been easy to piece together, but something in Tsukishima’s mind prevented him from seeing the truth. “Are you alright?” The blonde asks, peering at the man with a worried look on his face. The man, who looks a lot younger in the light, turns to the voice and just stares.

 

Tsukishima feels slightly uncomfortable by the steady gaze on him, cheeks turning redder with each passing second. “Tsu…” The blonde snaps his head back up. “Tsukki?” The blonde widened his eyes but then narrowed them again.

 

“How do you know my name?” He asks, but Tsukishima knows. His fingers are trembling on the edge of the tub and his eyes are beginning to water. The man looks frightened at first, takes a minute to take in his surroundings, and laughs. The sound is loud and catches the blonde by surprise, but it has a soft tone to it that Tsukishima is familiar with.

 

The man looks around the tub, reaches up and brings down a chewed up rubber ducky in his hands and smiles. “You still kept this, Tsukki?” The blonde is a little weirded out by the sound of the man’s voice, but it’s still soothing as he remembers. The man looks to Tsukishima’s hand and spots the collar that he had kept on him.

 

“Why…” Tsukishima starts, looking down. “Why did you leave?” Kuroo grimaced and looked to the water. He didn’t move or speak in response. “I...you were so important to me! I...had a friend that comforted me when I needed it, someone I could count on. I woke up and you didn’t wake me for food and you didn’t scratch at the door and I couldn’t hear the sound of the bell and…” Tsukishima screwed his eyes shut. “I was finally getting used to having you around and then you just leave without a goodbye!” Tsukishima sobbed, but he still tried to hold back. “Did you know...how I felt to be alone? I was _so lonely,_ Kuroo!”

 

Kuroo frowned and reached out to touch the other, but he held back. Tsukishima stopped crying and rested his forehead against the edge of the tub. They’re silent again before Kuroo speaks. “I...can’t control it.” He paused. “I can wake up a cat one day, a human the next. It’s completely random.” Tsukishima doesn’t move. “My memory isn’t always intact either. It comes back slowly and in pieces. I woke up in a warm place that day; I was so comfortable, like a real home. But it was strange and I didn’t recognize anything around me so...I fled. I didn’t want to scare you either….” Kuroo frowns and rubs his thumbs.

 

“I don’t know how far I ran, but it was pretty far away. And when everything all came back to me, when you found me and saved me and took me in and treated me like family, I thought maybe you would have forgotten about me...so I tried to forget about you.” Kuroo reaches to Tsukishima’s hand and gently pries the collar out from his pale hand. “I didn’t think you’d come back to find me like you did.” Kuroo chokes out a small laugh, but it sounded more like a sob. “It feels like deja vu…” Tsukishima lifts his head. “I’m so sorry, Tsukki.”

 

Kuroo reached out his hand to the other; Tsukishima took it gently, and while this hand does not belong to a cat’s paw, it still had that comforting warmth that he remembers. The blonde smiles through the tears as Kuroo leaned to press his forehead against his own. It’s warm, and Tsukishima doesn’t mind that Kuroo’s hair is dripping onto his face and his clothes and getting him all wet again. No, he doesn’t mind at all. Kuroo purrs when they’re so close and Tsukishima knows that his cat has finally come home.

 

Tsukishima lets out a small cry as Kuroo pulls the blonde inside the tub with him, splashing water everywhere and soaking the floor. The blonde whines about his clothes being wet and nearly scolds Kuroo, but the cat only laughs and hugs Tsukishima to his chest. And suddenly the blonde is very aware that Kuroo is naked, that he stripped him but Kuroo doesn’t seem to care and just wraps his surprisingly muscular arms around his thin frame and doesn’t let got. It’s not a hug that’s too tight or too loose; it feels perfect.

 

There was a storm that night, the thunder crackling louder than usual. But Tsukishima didn’t hear a single thing. He didn’t hear the phone ringing, the storm outside, the rain hitting the glass windows; all he could hear was the soft purr coming from Kuroo’s lips, the sound of the bell jingling every time Kuroo moved his hand, and the gentle beating of his heart.

 

**Day 51:**

Kuroo pads sleepily to the kitchen around 7am; breakfast time. He doesn’t have to wake Tsukishima up this time, because the blonde is already awake. “Tsukki?” Kuroo calls out sleepily, content that all of his problems were solved. He spotted the blonde immediately and hugged him from behind. “Good morning!” He looked around the kitchen wondering to see what he had cooked for breakfast, but his nose did catch the scent of fish.

 

Looking down, Kuroo noticed the can of mackerel on the floor. He pouted. “I’m not a cat right now; I can eat proper human food.” He looks down. “Rather, that little can won’t be enough right now.” Kuroo frowns and pulls away to get a better look at the blonde’s face. The sadistic smile that replaces that kind sweet smile Kuroo remembers and loves scares him. “T-tsukki?”

 

“Ah, good morning, Kuroo!” Tsukishima greets. “Your breakfast is already ready. I know how you love mackerel so much.” Tsukishima watches Kuroo’s dejected face and he gasps. “Oh, I’m sorry!” The blonde rummages around the fridge and Kuroo is hopeful that a plate of bacon and eggs lies there, but instead it’s another can of mackerel and Tsukishima places it right next to the first one. “Since this is your first morning back after you deserted me for twenty whole days, leaving me all by myself and wondering if you’d ever come back, I might as well treat you to your favorite.”

 

Tsukishima smiles and kisses Kuroo on the cheek and starts heading back to the bedroom. “I’m tired, so when you’re done eating, maybe I’ll let you come join me in bed.” As Tsukishima walks away, Kuroo whines and sits on the floor and assesses the opened cans. It’s not the worst thing; at least there’s food. Kuroo wonders how long it would take for Tsukishima to forgive him.

 

“Hopefully not twenty days.” Kuroo muses to himself as he eats the pieces of fish in silence. Tsukishima smiles in his sleep; he wonders how long it would take for Kuroo’s feline nose to pick up the plate of bacon and toast sitting warm inside the oven.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Please tell me what you thought!


End file.
